Competing in a Škoda, Lappi pulled away from the rest of the drivers already in the morning and was able to secure his victory on the final special stages. He claimed first place with a margin of 35.8 seconds ahead of Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala, who made a guest appearance in the Finnish Rally Championship.
Latvala made a remarkable climb to second place on the final stage, where he set a blistering time 16.1 seconds faster than Lappi. He had encountered a turbo issue on the opening stage, losing nearly 50 seconds to the leader. However, the determined former WRC driver shifted into attack mode and fought his way onto the podium.
Surprisingly, Toyota’s junior programme driver Yuki Yamamoto finished third in the rally. The Japanese driver edged out multiple Finnish champion Teemu Asunmaa by 3.8 seconds, leaving Asunmaa to settle for fourth place. Yamamoto trailed Latvala by just 3.9 seconds.
His compatriot Hikaru Kogure finished fifth in the competition, with a gap of over a minute and a half to the leader. In the battle between the Japanese duo, Yamamoto clearly had the upper hand in Savonlinna.
Tuukka Kauppinen, who sensationally claimed victory in Rovaniemi at the turn of January and February, faced a tough challenge in the third round of the Finnish Rally Championship. He went off the road on the fourth stage and again on the final stage of the rally. With the help of spectators, Kauppinen and his co-driver Sebastian Virtanen managed to continue and reach the finish line, but they ended up among the lower-ranked competitors.
The SM2 class witnessed a thrilling battle for victory. Estonian driver Patrick Enok secured first place with an 11-second margin over Henri Altomaa. Japan’s Takumi Matsushita completed the podium in third place.
Savonlinna Rally results:
| POS. | Driver | Car | Time |
| 1. | Esapekka Lappi | Skoda | 42:30.9 |
| 2. | Jari-Matti Latvala | Toyota | +35.8 |
| 3. | Yuki Yamamoto | Toyota | +39.7 |
| 4. | Teemu Asunmaa | Skoda | +43.5 |
| 5. | Hikaru Kogure | Toyota | +1:34.2 |
| 6. | Patrick Enok | Ford | +1:58.3 |
| 7. | Henri Altomaa | Renault | +2:09.3 |
| 8. | Tommi Jylhä | Skoda | +2:22.1 |
| 9. | Takumi Matsushita | Renault | +2:24.0 |
| 10. | Jari Liiten | Skoda | +2:25.9 |
Savonlinna Rally Itinerary:
Saturday 8.3.
10.30 EK1 Naistenlahti (8,05 km)
11.04 EK2 Tuhkula (14,87 km)
12.37 EK3 Makkola 1 (19,45 km)
13.27 EK4 Haapala (10,15 km)
13.55 EK5 Lahdenkylä (8,72 km)
16.08 EK6 Makkola 2 (19,45 km)
16.44 EK7 Matko (23,61 km)
